The Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), the most important organization representing apparel exporters in India, has the announcement (s) of its most daring-ever plan(s) to expand the global reach of Indian apparel for the upcoming fiscal year 2025-26. With this strategic move, they want to break into the newer and non-traditional markets, thus increasing exports and pushing India forward in the global apparel industry.
The apparel industry in India is such that, despite all the challenges that the country has to face like global headwinds, geopolitical tensions, and supply chain disruptions, it has been very surprising how the apparel sector has managed to maintain its strength. The AEPC Chairman Mr. Sudhir Sekhri announced 11.6% growth in exports which was about $13 billion in the months of April to January 2024-25.
The council’s attention to market diversification has never been so important to the Indian apparel sector. Through the utilization of new and non-traditional markets, AEPC means to the decrease in dependency for the well-established export destinations and thus try to make use of the newly arrived opportunities globally. Through this route, the Indian apparel organization might be able to shore up its income from the unchanged parts of the world and also make possible the growth that may arise from the rest of the world.
Several major projects such as the production-linked incentive initiative, the extension of the RoSCLT, and the free trade agreements with the UAE and Australia are government initiatives that are backing AEPC’s expansion plans. These concerns tend to allow the Indian apparel industry to distinguish itself to the rest of the world by providing such services that are not present elsewhere.
Being Secretary-General of AEPC, Mr. Mithileshwar Thakur brought out the happier situation of the regular old big markets. Ready-made garments exports rose sharply to top-tier markets with the US market leading at 13.8%, the UK at 8.9%, Germany at 10.6%, and Spain at a staggering 19.7%. These statistics are the clear representations of the continued impact of the Indian apparel industry on the solidified markets.
Focusing on the 2025-26 period, the council’s approach is multi-directional in expansion of the market. This is a strategy that involves involvement in international trade fairs, conducting buyer-seller meets in target countries, and showcasing Indian couture on digital platforms to the international audience. Furthermore, AEPC contemplates getting the Indian embassies and trade bodies in potential markets more involved in business facilitation and getting to know the local consumers’ preferences well so they can help the collaboration.
The mantras are -innovation and sustainability for AEPC export promotion activities. The council believes that India can serve as a proof of concept for the eco-friendly and ethically manufactured apparel that the world is demanding by the year 2025. This is a strategy that is expected to have a relation with the newest environmentally friendly consumers of new markets.
The capability of the Indian clothes sector to metamorphosis and bounce back has been manifested in the face of global confrontations. Factories are committed to innovations in technology and have organized supply chains, while others are interested in producing using alternate methods necessary during the change in consumer demand. It is the readiness of such initiatives that have the sector in a favorable position for a change in direction to new jurisdictions.
AEPC’s initiative is in line with the Indian government’s larger ambition of exports growth and its economy development. Apparel still is labor-intensive and therefore, it contributes significantly to the creation of jobs and the economic development of regions, especially in semi-urban and rural areas. If the plan for export expansion succeeds, it will have a major positive impact on the Indian economy and employment scenario.
The fashion industry in the world is becoming more sustainable, ethical production is emphasized more, and the designs are more unique. All these, in turn, are the reasons Indian apparel exporters are ready to tap into these trends. As part of AEPC’s strategic strategy, 2025-26 will be a time when India will open new pages in the apparel export story by diversifying the market, potentially changing the position of the country in the global fashion ecosystem.
